Telecom Field Trials Underway for First PowerCache™ Energy Storage Module

Commercial Introduction Scheduled for October 2003

San Diego -- Maxwell Technologies announced today that it has realigned its Power Systems Group to focus on developing and marketing ultracapacitor-based back-up power solutions for telecommunications and other industrial applications that require "zero downtime" power reliability.

Richard Smith, Maxwell's executive vice president for strategic business development noted that the power blackout that crippled much of the northeastern United States and eastern Canada last week underscores the need for enhanced back-up power solutions for telecommunications and other mission critical systems.

"We have been collaborating for some time with uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system integrators and fuel cell and other back-up power generator manufacturers to develop more reliable, lower-maintenance alternatives to current UPS offerings," Smith said. "The first of these systems, using our PowerCache™ energy storage modules for short-term ‘bridge' power, already are being deployed in field trials by telecommunications service providers in the US and Europe."

Maxwell's initial PowerCache product, a 48-volt, rack-mounted, module containing 22 of the company's BoostCap® large cell ultracapacitors, was developed specifically for telecommunications switching centers and base stations. Unlike battery-based systems, PowerCache modules require no maintenance and perform reliably through hundreds of thousands discharge/recharge cycles, guaranteeing "life of the application" reliability.

Smith said that industry sources estimate that the global market opportunity for such modules, each of which supports one rack of telecommunications equipment, totals approximately 2.7 million units.